ministers are considering a ban on flammable cladding for high—rise buildings after the grenfell tower fire. almost a year after the blaze in london which left 72 people dead, the government says it will launch a consultation. having listened carefully to concerns, the government will consult on banning the use of combustible materials and cladding systems on high—rise residential buildings. it comes after an official review today stopped short of recommending an outright ban — calling instead for a radical rethink of safety regulation. also tonight. arriving in windsor for wedding rehearsals as meghan markle confirms her father will not be there when she marries prince harry on saturday. government plans to cut the maximum bet on high stakes slot machines from £100 tojust prompts warnings of big job losses. a woman is acquitted of killing her former partner in an acid attack that left him in such pain he decided to end his own life. and planning for the future — why mothercare is shutting down more

than a third of its stores. coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, we hear from the england manager defending the inexperienced world cup 23 that he is going to take to russia next month. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the government is considering a ban on flammable cladding for high—rise buildings after the grenfell tower fire which left 72 people dead. ministers announced that a consultation would take place just hours after the publication of an official review, into the grenfell fire, which had stopped short of recommending an outright ban. a year after the fire, survivors say they're disappointed that more hasn't been done. the labour mp and grenfell campaigner david lammy called

the review a whitewash. our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds reports. this disaster triggered a housing safety crisis. residents turfed out of their homes, buildings strict with massive bills for putting them right. the realisation that the building regulations had failed. enter dame judith hackitt, building regulations had failed. enter damejudith hackitt, the senior engineer called on to review the building regulations, under pressure for weeks to ban materials which burned from tall buildings. but she did not. if people look at this report and say it doesn't go far enough because it did not ban cladding, then i will accept that as a criticism. that is a criticism. and i accept that. but what i would say in response to that is what i have found is a problem with

building of high—rise buildings which goes far beyond people putting cladding on to the building that is not compliant. but she did save the government bans it i would support that. sure enough, ii government bans it i would support that. sure enough, 11 months after grenfell, the community secretary rose to his feet in the commons. having listened carefully to concerns, the government will consult on banning the use of combustibility and cladding systems on high—rise buildings. combustibility and cladding systems on high-rise buildings. consultation but not the decision campaigners wanted. they will have to take the step that they realise what they should do but they should have done this today. cladding is being removed from some buildings. but banning it completely would mean changing the complex system of guidance the industry uses to meet building regulations and dame judith‘s report does not go there. instead, she takes aim at the

culture of the industry, she said it isa culture of the industry, she said it is a race to the bottom, jobs done as quickly and cheaply as possible, indifferent to the rules and ignorant of the safety aspects. she recommends the new authority to oversee safety, more rigorous enforcement, simple rules, more power for enforcement, simple rules, more powerfor residents enforcement, simple rules, more power for residents and the industry itself to lead the change. but can itself to lead the change. but can it be trusted? take a look at what has been going on with fire tests in recent yea rs. has been going on with fire tests in recent years. manufacturers or designers write desktop studies based on test results when they want to know how one brand of cladding performs next to a different brand of insulation. what is an architect wa nts of insulation. what is an architect wants different cladding? a new fire testis wants different cladding? a new fire test is not needed, another desktop study can be produced assessing how the original material would have performed in the five test. if that happens repeatedly, the design is happening on paper there no resemblance to the one originally

tested in the real world. both the damejudith tested in the real world. both the dame judith hackitt tested in the real world. both the damejudith hackitt review tested in the real world. both the dame judith hackitt review and tested in the real world. both the damejudith hackitt review and the government want tighter rules. the reforms could take years but thousands of people like lucy hopkins are waiting to see what will happen about the dangerous cladding on the outside of their homes. there are so on the outside of their homes. there are so much uncertainty for me as a flat owner and for the rest of the people in the block as well. we have no idea what the financial impact will be. it looks like we are being left to sort out this problem by ourselves. the anniversary of g re nfell tower ourselves. the anniversary of grenfell tower approaches. repairing the wider damage is an enormous task. meghan markle has spoken of her sadness as she confirmed that her father thomas markle will not be attending her wedding to prince harry on saturday. he had been due to walk her down the aisle. but in a statement she said he would not now be doing so to focus on his health. this afternoon prince harry and his fiancee were in windsor for a rehearsal ahead of their big day. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell is in windsor. well, weddings are frequently

stressful affairs for families, and this has been no exception. i understand that meghan markle was told by her father that he could not attend due to medical advice. there have been reports of heart surgery but nothing has been confirmed. today finally, two days before the service, the will he won't he riddled has been answered. time to end the uncertainty and focus on the wedding. harry and meghan were driven to windsor castle for a private rehearsal at st george's chapel, as it was confirmed that the bride's father, thomas markle, will not be at his daughter's wedding. kensington palace issued this statement from miss markle. "sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding. i have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health." in windsor, preparations for saturday. a rehearsal by 250 members of the three armed services who will be taking part.

the most visible element will be the mounted escort, provided by harry's old regiment the household cavalry. they'll accompany what, weather permitting on saturday, will be an open carriage procession through the centre of windsor. also rehearsing has been the choir of st george's chapel, and preparing for his role providing over the service, the dean of windsor. my impression is that they love one another very much. they are very committed to each other. they are very serious about their relationship, and that's why, i think, they particularly want to see it grounded in a religious ceremony. the royal wedding can be said to be back on track after three days when even its most committed supporters may have felt a little bemused. but in thomas markle's absence, who will escort miss markle to the altar? the obvious candidate is her mother doria ragland, who has arrived from her home in california. 0r might itjust be that the father of the groom, prince charles,

whose marriage to the duchess of cornwall was blessed in st george's chapel, might he escort his new daughter—in—law to the altar? we should know tomorrow. nicholas witchell, bbc news, windsor. a woman charged with killing her ex—boyfriend in an acid attack has been found not guilty of murder. mark van dongen was left with such catastrophic injuries that he decided to take his own life at a euthanasia clinic in belgium more than a year after the attack. berlinah wallace was acquitted of causing his death but she was found guilty of throwing a corrosive fluid with intent. jon kay is outside court now. this court heard that with a simple click berlinah wallace was able to buy a bottle of sulphuric acid on the internet, and three days later she threw it over her boyfriend as he lay in bed wearing just a pair of

shorts. his injuries were described as catastrophic. this afternoon she was found not guilty of murder but guilty of throwing acid with intent. she has been told to expect a lengthy sentence when she returned here next week. six foot five, athletic, a dutch engineer, but mark van dongen was left paralysed, blinded and suicidal when his jealous girlfriend attacked him with acid. these police pictures show how it burned the bed sheets. translation: when it happened and i first went to the hospital, i didn't even recognise him. mark van dongen‘s father told me his son was in agony for more than a year before he was granted euthanasia at a belgian hospital. it was very hard. but he was in so much pain. it was unbearable. he had no life left. we had explored every avenue. and in the end, ijust had to agree and accept his decision.

as for the south african fashion student he treated like a daughter, and who has now been convicted of throwing the acid... to me, she's the devil incarnate. what happened to mark, all that suffering. mark van dongen‘s pain can be heard in this 999 call, as neighbours rang for an ambulance. he'd staggered out of the couple's bristol flat, begging for help. this has been a highly unusual trial. berlinah wallace was charged with mark van dongen‘s murder, even though he chose to end his life more than a year after the acid attack. but the jury concluded she was not responsible for his death and guilty

only of throwing the liquid. acid is one of the most deadly weapons out there and this case is proof of the devastation it can cause. translation: i don't want this to happen to anyone else, to any other father or mother. no one else should go through this pain and misery. berlinah wallace will be sentenced next week. jon kay, bbc news, bristol crown court. the father of two boys killed in a hit and run crash in coventry has been found dead in a hotel room in greece. west midlands police say the death of reece platt—may in corfu is not being treated as suspicious. his sons — casper and corey, who were aged two and six — died in february. the driver of the car that hit them is serving a nine—year prison sentence. the gambling industry is warning that tens of thousands ofjobs are at risk, after the government decided to reduce dramatically the maximum stake on fixed—odd betting terminals.

currently, people can gamble up to £100 every 20 seconds on electronic casino games. but that's been cut to just £2 in betting shops across the uk. the terminals generate almost billion pounds in revenue for the betting industry. amol rajan reports. these high—sta kes these high—stakes high reward machines are a key feature of the 8500 betting shops on british high streets. such shops employ over 50,000 people and pay over £1 billion in tax. for over a decade they have allowed punters to bet £100 every 20 seconds. as a result, there were 233,000 occasions last year, in which over £1000 was lost

ina single year, in which over £1000 was lost in a single session. that is why many victims campaigned for the maximum stake to be reduced to £2. sarah grant from cardiff lost everything on the machines. she lost herjob and everything on the machines. she lost her job and became everything on the machines. she lost herjob and became homeless. when i was using them i was in a really bad time in my life and to me they were like somewhere i could go that i was accept it that there were people willing to want to speak to me. they we re willing to want to speak to me. they were offering me drinks and different things. itjust were offering me drinks and different things. it just felt like someone different things. it just felt like someone wanted to spend time with me. dominic ford owns cat macro raw betting. he owns six shops. me. dominic ford owns cat macro raw betting. he owns six shopsm me. dominic ford owns cat macro raw betting. he owns six shops. it is pretty catastrophic, it means the end of my business. we are marginal business, the high street is tough at the moment. take away 50% of our income, we are not sustainable. everything about these machines is designed to excite and reward the senses. defenders say in a free society, responsible adults should

be allowed to spend their money as they see fit, provided they don't harm others. but the government is 110w harm others. but the government is now persuaded that the harm caused is immense, not just now persuaded that the harm caused is immense, notjust to individuals but to those around them. isn't there a point of principle that in a liberal society responsible adults should be able to spend their money as they choose, and aren't you in danger of punishing a majority for the sins of a minority? all the evidence was that the people who could least afford to lose thousands of pounds ata time afford to lose thousands of pounds at a time were losing money on these machines. when you find a social blight like that, i think it is our duty to stop it. i have lost relationships, kids, everything. i think it will help. you walk up this road now in rochdale, it is nearly all betting shops. you will never beat a bookie. as you can see, the

main streets are full of bookies. but are they looking in the right place? more than one in every £3 lost in gambling is now online. high street and on location betting and the national lottery or only around a quarter each. as with so many industries, new laws are struggling to keep up with digital innovation. 0nce to keep up with digital innovation. once upon to keep up with digital innovation. 0nce upona to keep up with digital innovation. once upon a time punters had to go to the bookies, now bets come to them 24/7 and through smartphones, children are exposed as well. there are no clear and public metrics for what the government deems success from this move. the timetable remains unclear. while high street bookies are clobbered, obtaining digital gambling is the next imminent frontier. our top story this evening... ministers are considering a ban on flammable cladding for high—rise buildings almost a year after the grenfell tower fire which left 72 people dead. and still to come...last

minute preparations for the royal wedding — how windsor is getting ready for prince harry and meghan markle's big day on saturday. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, an inspiring story in the women's super league, of the birmingham keeper diagnosed with cancer who ended up in the team of the year. hundreds of elite british olympic and paralympic athletes say they have themselves experienced or witnessed "unacceptable behaviour" during training, but only a quarter had reported it. that's according to a new report commissioned by uk sport after a series of welfare and bullying scandals. 0ur sports editor dan roan has the story. to give england the gold! british competitors celebrated hundreds of medals at this year's commonwealth games but suddenly, sport is being judged on more than just glory. has winning come at too great a cost? the reality of life as an elite

athlete has now been revealed. funding agency uk sport's culture health check presents a mixed picture. it found that 90% of athletes surveyed were proud to be part of the world—class programme but, alarmingly, almost a third said they'd experienced or witnessed unacceptable behaviour, and 31% feared reprisals if they gave negative feedback. we need to create a system here where the quality of the discussion is improved and the athletes‘ feedback is as valued as the coaches' advice and support. quite simply, what the survey has done is identified something that can be better in this high—performance system. in an admission that resources for whistle—blowers and those with grievances have been overstretched, funding for the british athletes commission, which represent 0lympic and paralympic competitors, is being doubled. i don't think the bac has been resourced effectively in the past. i don't think we have had enough specialists on the ground helping and supporting athletes. thanks to state—of—the—art facilities like these

here at bisham abbey's centre of excellence, british sport has gained a world—class reputation when it comes to physical preparation. but the survey also found that almost a quarter of elite athletes were not happy with the measures taken to optimise their mental health. david kettle... 0n the surface, david kettle had the world at his feet. he's won 99 caps playing in goal for the wales national hockey team and recently competed in his second commonwealth games. but speaking publicly for the first time about his severe depression, the 30—year—old told me how it consumed him. any mental health issue can be, you know, as i say, like a life or death situation. for me, it was getting quite serious, to the point where, you know, i wasn't sleeping at all and you know, i was really struggling, if i'm honest. when it got really bad last year, i decided to seek help and i withdrew from international sport. what i found after that was that, you know, i think the support for athletes and coaches and just everyone is a bit

lacking at the moment. i think, you know, everyone wants to help but we don't necessarily know how to help. whether it's frank admissions about mental health or athletes speaking out about bullying, the last year has been tough for british sport. the challenge now is to make welfare a priority as well as winning. dan roan, bbc news. a man has beenjailed for life for the murder of a barmaid in north london last christmas. iuliana tudos disappeared after leaving the pub in camden on christmas eve. her body was found three days later. frankie mccamley is at the old bailey. many people will remember this case, specifically because it happened around christmas time last year. 22—year—old iuliana tudos was on her way home from work to pick up some belongings in north london on christmas eve before heading out with friends. however she never made it home. police launched a search operation, her body was found three

days later in a derelict building in a park near her house. her friends and family packed the gallery as they watched proceedings as 31—year—old kasim lewis pleaded guilty to her murder. the court heard how her hands had been bound by cable ties before she was attacked with a broken bottle. sentencing kasim lewis to 29 years in prison, thejudge described the killing is horrendous and barbaric come he said what you did to her was wicked beyond belief. ispoke come he said what you did to her was wicked beyond belief. i spoke to her stepfather afterwards he welcomed the sentencing and said he's happy he is now locked up to save other lives like his daughter's. the european commission is taking the uk and five other countries to court for failing to cut emissions of nitrogen dioxide produced by diesel engines. the poisonous gas causes thousands of premature deaths every year. the government has said it's working on a new clean air strategy to address the problem. an eruption has rocked hawaii's kilaueau

volcano, sending an ash plume thousands of feet into the air. so far the eruption has destroyed 37 homes in the southeast of the island and forced around 2,000 people to evacuate their homes. motherca re has announced it wants to close more than a third of its stores, putting 800 jobs at risk. the retailer says it's in a perilous financial position after posting annual losses of more than £70 million today. it wants to shut 50 stores across the uk as part of a rescue package. mothercase is just the latest big high street name that's been forced to make drastic cuts. our business correspondent emma simpson has more. mothercare, it's been a one—stop shop for parents—to—be and their little ones for decades. but it's in trouble and here's why. where do you go to get all your baby stuff from? primark. primark and asda. george in asda have got a really good range as well. what about motherca re?

no. too expensive. sounds like mothercare has just got more competition these days. years ago — because i'm older, obviously, mothercare was the first shop thatjust did baby things and it was very, very popular. i can remember getting a little book and looking at what i wanted and i loved it. mothercare used to run hundreds of stores. today it has 137. and it now wants to close 50 of them by next summer to cut costs. around 800 jobs could be lost. mothercare's problem is that it has too many underperforming stores. the uk business hasn't made a profit since 2012, and with tough conditions on the high street, its troubles have finally come to a head. "perilous" was how the company described its financial condition today, but mothercare is confident that its rescue plan will keep it out of hot water. will it be enough? the business is on a cliff edge at the moment. it's got a very strong brand name

that does well internationally but it has to produce a compelling offer for the uk consumer and that's where its problem is and what is going to be the challenge in the future. and in a jaw—dropping move, the boss — who was sacked just a month ago — has been rehired to try to turn this business around. another household name that is struggling to make the sums add up. emma simpson, bbc news. more than 100,000 people are expected to descend on windsor this weekend for the royal wedding. some are already there, camping outjust to make sure they get the best view of prince harry and meghan markle. sarah campbell reports from windsor as it gets ready for the big day. all ages have helped to get windsor wedding ready. more than half a mile's worth of bunting has been created by the borough's primary school children, including here at 0akfield first school. we will be watching on a big, big screen. we will see them, like, going down the aisle. yeah, the thing i'm looking forward to seeing is meghan's dress

and them saying yes. and the wedding will be shown on the big screen, a high definition version of how a 15—year—old sylvia watched harry's granny, the queen, get married in 1947. we went to a neighbour's and she had a black—and—white television and it's the first television we'd seen. there was great excitement. i rememberthem all coming out on the balcony. that's what i remember the most. and 70 years later, did you think you would be watching the queen's grandson get married just down the road? no, i neverthought, no! ensuring the safety of local people and wedding watchers has led to one of thames valley police's largest ever operations. but the security should not overshadow the wedding, according to the man in charge. what we want to do is get the balance right of being there to provide a secure environment for the public but at the same time, enough people to come and be able to enjoy the day.

and the route we have agreed and worked with is one we can get 115,000 people in but at the same time, we can maintain security around it. and despite calls for the police to take action, windsor‘s homeless will not be moved on. i will be here, probably. i've got nowhere else to go. windsor's my hometown. will you watch the procession go past? yeah, i probably will. will you cheer? yeah, i will. there has been a lot of disruption for the whole town over the past few months but the wedding has provided an opportunity to cash in. there's one pub's specially distilled ginger gin, legoland's 40,000 brick display, and replica lemon and elderflower cakes. can we help you? volunteering their services forfree, charlie and richard are two of more than 100 local ambassadors who will be on hand to help get people in and out of town. we are very well prepared and we have proved before that we can cope with numbers. not this many!

not this number. windsor's ready, as best we can, i think. yes, we're looking forward to it. finishing touches this evening on the procession route. the backdrop to meghan and harry's wedding is almost complete. sarah campbell, bbc news, windsor. time for a look at the weather. here's matt taylor. and it's going to be rather nice. any bride or groom will be happy with conditions this weekend, the sunshine continues and if anything on saturday it will be a little bit warmer. if you are going to line the streets, make sure you have the suncream as well. warmer spots in the west of scotland under blue skies, a bit of a change coming to western scotland tomorrow, more cloud around which will push in through tonight keeping temperatures higher than last night but elsewhere get ready for a chilly night. in england and wales it could be cold enough for a touch of frost on the

grass. warming up quite nicely, england and wales, much of eastern scotla nd england and wales, much of eastern scotland dry with cloud into the afternoon. a lot more cloud tomorrow, a bit more breeze and a chance of some showers. the cloud melts away by night, another cool start of the weekend but it's not just about the wedding of course. two cup finals taking place, with temperatures roughly around the 20 degrees mark. most places dry, long spells and sunshine as well. strong sunshine overhead so if you are having a garden party, a street party, hiding from it all party, you should be dry with temperatures getting to the high teens if not the low on saturday. many will see the same again on sunday with a few changes, northern ireland and scotland, the weather front edges in and there will be showers at times.

much of south—east scotland, england and wales, you stick with the dry conditions with good, long sunny spells and it could feel warmer still with temperatures peaking around 23 or 24, no complaints here. none at all! a reminder of our main story... ministers are considering a ban on flammable cladding for high—rise buildings almost a year after the grenfell tower fire which left 72 people dead. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. preparations gather pace for the royal wedding at windsor castle — there's been a surprise appearance at windsor by prince harry and meghan markle. it's been confirmed that meghan markle's father will not be attending — the bride—to—be has pleaded for him to be given space to focus on his health. meanwhile, hundreds of people lined the streets in the sunshine to see the rehearsal of the carriage procession through windsor. in other news, the government says it could still ban combustible

cladding, despite a review after the grenfell tower fire suggesting an outright ban is not needed. a woman is found guilty of throwing acid over herformer partner as he slept — he later died in a euthanasia clinic. and the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals is to be slashed to just £2 — the gambling industry claims it will cost thousands of jobs. in a moment, it will be time for sportsday, but first, a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. 0n beyond 100 days, at 7 o'clock, we'll be live in windsor,